Ferries, Beaches, & Towers

A few apologies right off the bat. . . excuse the spelling (French keyboards have letters in different places!), excuse the tardiness (haven,t had internet access in a while and it's costing 5 dollars for 30 minutes right now), and for all that money, I can't post pictures!

From where we left off. . . we took an overnight ferry from Portsmouth, England to Caen, France. The ferry ride was great; the room was tiny, but we had our own cabin with a bathroom (most luxurious ferry accomodations I've ever had!). Therewas a full moon and the xater was perfectly calm. Alexis and I got up at 4:00 am and watched the sun rise over the English channel. Boyh Andy and Alexis were dumbfounded over the size of the ferry (there were several shops and a couple of restaurants in addition to all the 18 wheelers we saw drive on before we left).

Once we arrived in port in France, the adventure really began. Specifically, Andy and Alexis made it through customs fine, but I was detqined by French authorities! No, they didn't have records from my Navy days, they just didn't like my passport. On a similar backpacking trip I8 made alone in 1997, I was robbed at a trainstation and relieved of my passport. The temporary one I was issued at the American embassy in the Czeck ,Republic got extended by the Navy and has been my permanent passport for the last 9 years. My unusual looking passport has caused delays before, but not even the Chinese detained me! After sufficient posturing by the French authorities and adequate tongue holding by me, I was finally stamped into France with an admonishment to replace the passport ASAP.

D Day Beaches. We stayed in a great little town called Bayeux where we based ourselves to explore the beaches and museums. We saw an original 11th century tapestry and Andy had what he's deemed "the best ice cream and sandwiches he's ever had"! The only word I can use to describe the experience of standing on the beach at Normandy is INTENSE. I'm not gonna lie and say I did't shed a tear at the Americazn cemetary at Omaha beach. I took off my shoes and waded into the waters at that infamous beach. I did it not just because I am always drawn to large bodies of water, but also because I needed a sensory connection with the men who fought and died on those beaches. It was unsettling to see a handful of sunbathers on the beach; it just didn't seem right to be recreating on such sacred ground.

Paris. I thought Alexis was going to jump out of her skin during the 2.5 hour train ride from Bayeux to Paris! Andy had no particular destinations in mind as we planned this trip, but Alexis had been waiting to see Paris for several years. As we pulled into the train station, I wish I could've had my camera ready when she looked at me and asked with some trepidation, "This is Paris?" After having pulled into many different train stations in many different cities, it has been my experience that they are all pretty much the same from the tracks; graffiti and gargage strewn. It was worth it though to see her face absolutly light up when she got her first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower loomong over the ,Seine River as our metro carried us to the center of the city. We've been non stop ever since. I introduced them both to chocolate Nutella crepes (remember those Mom?!). We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, xatched the cracy traffic go round the Arc d'Triumph, toured the palaces of Versaille, and took in some Impressionist masterpieces at thr Museum d'Orsay. So tonight, we had xashed down steak with red wine and are calling it an early evening. We're gearing up for a big day at the Louve tomorrow!